indiaonwheelzz: July 2014

Sunday 6 July 2014

TVS JUPITER SPECIFICATIONS

Jupiter Versions

Standard

Ex-Showroom Price: Rs. 46,670

Jupiter Review

The TVS Jupiter was launched by the company keeping in India’s male consumers in mind, who account for 36 per cent of scooter sales in the country. Built on the Wego platform, the Jupiter is powered by an 110cc single cylinder air-cooled engine that churns out 8bhp at 7,500 rpm and 8Nm at 5,500rpm.

The scooter gets a V-Matic transmission and features an Econometer which guides riders in both the ‘Eco Mode’ and ‘Power Mode’. The Jupiter gets telescopic suspension in the front and gas-filled suspension at the rear, a low fuel indicator and an LED tail light.

The company claims a fuel-efficiency of 62 kmpl in the ‘Eco Mode’. The scooter’s fuel tank can carry 5.3-litre of fuel and can be filled via an external fuel lid above the tail light – a feature that is offered in the Wego scooter. It has a 17-litre under seat storage facility that can accommodate a full face helmet and also a mobile charging point. The 110cc scooter gets a pass switch – the first in the Indian scooter segment and is available in four colours – Pristine White, Midnight Black, Titanium Grey and Volcano Red. The Jupiter competes with the Honda Activa and in some aspects it beats the Japanese scooter.

TVS Jupiter Standard Specifications

Features

Speedometer	Analogue
Tachometer	No
Tachometer Type	--
Shift Light	No
Electric Start	Yes
Tripmeter	No
No Of Tripmeters	--
Tripmeter Type	--
Low Fuel Indicator	Yes
Low Oil Indicator	Yes
Low Battery Indicator	Yes
Fuel Gauge	Yes
Digital Fuel Gauge	No
Pillion Seat	No
Pillion Footrest	Yes
Pillion Backrest	No
Pillion Grabrail	Yes
Stand Alarm	No
Stepped Seat	No
Antilock Braking System	No
Killswitch	No
Clock	No

Specification

Engine

Displacement (cc)	109
Cylinders	1
Max Power	8
Maximum Torque	8
Bore (mm)	54
Stroke (mm)	49
Valves Per Cylinder	1
Fuel Delivery System	Carburetor
Fuel Type	Petrol
Ignition	Digital IDI with Ignition Map Technology
Spark Plugs (Per Cylinder)	1
Cooling System	Air Cooled

Transmission

Gearbox Type	Manual
No Of Gears	--
Transmission Type	V-matic
Clutch	Automatic

Dimensions & Weight

Kerb Weight (Kg)	108
Overall Length (mm)	1834
Overall Width (mm)	650
Overall Height (mm)	1115
Wheelbase (mm)	1275
Ground Clearance (mm)	150
Seat Height (mm)	765

Fuel Efficiency & Range

Fuel Tank Capacity (Litres)	5
Reserve Fuel Capacity (Litres)	1.5
FuelEfficiency Overall (Kmpl)	60
Fuel Efficiency Range (Km)	300

Chassis & Suspension

Chassis Type	High Rigidity Underbone Type
Front Suspension	Advance Telescopic Suspension
Rear Suspension	Unit Swing with Spring Loaded Hydraulic and Gas Fi

Braking

Brake Type	Drum
Front Disc	No
Front Disc/Drum Size (mm)	130
Rear Disc	No
Rear Disc/Drum Size (mm)	130
Calliper Type	--

Wheels & Tyres

Wheel Size (inches)	12
Front Tyre	90/90-12,Tubeless
Rear Tyre	90/90-12,Tubeless
Tubeless Tyres	Yes
Radial Tyres	No
Alloy Wheels	Yes

Electricals

Electric System	12V
Battery	12V, Ah Flooded
Headlight Type	Halogen(Multi-reflector Type)
Headlight Bulb Type	12V, 35/35W
Brake/Tail Light	12V, 2W/1.5W LED
Turn Signal	12V - 10W(Amber Bulb)x 4 Nos.
Pass Light	Yes

Performance

0 to 60 kmph (Seconds)	7.2
0 to 80 kmph (Seconds)	--
0 to 40 m (Seconds)	--
Top Speed (Kmph)	62
60 to 0 Kmph (Seconds, metres)	--
80 to 0 kmph (Seconds, metres)	--

Colors

Black, Red, Gray and White

STUNT BIKING IN INDIA

His Facebook page is called ‘Monty MTV Stunt Maniac’. He has a website whose landing page describes him as ‘Monty Psycho Freestyle’, and he signs off SMSes as ‘MONTY FREESTYLE STUNTRIDR’.

Monty, or Mohit Choudhury, the formal name that few know him by, drips attitude — tough, cool, devil-may-care. And why not? He is ‘one of the top 10 freestyle stunt riders of India’, a claim that draws legitimacy from the fact that he was runner-up at the 2011 MTV Pulsar Stuntmania, has been featured in Overdrive magazine, and is regularly asked by various bike-manufacturers to test drive their new launches.

Monty came to our meeting last week straight from having test-ridden the KTM 390cc Duke, the latest offering from the Austrian superbike brand. The bike costs around Rs1.8 lakh and Monty will be paid around Rs25,000 for a couple of days’ work. He’s also bagged a few sponsorships from biking-gear brands and makes Rs50,000 a month on an average. He owns six bikes — a Yamaha FZ16 (costs approx Rs70,000), Bajaj Pulsar 200 (Rs85,000 or so), two Bajaj Pulsar 220s (Rs80,000 plus) and a Honda Stunner (under Rs60,000). “For men, bikes have always been a symbol of status and power,” he says.

Is it street friendly?
The police action in central Delhi’s high-security zone late last month, in which one pillion rider was shot dead, has been part of a sustained campaign to check the menace that stunt bikers have become of late. Last month, Delhi Police fined 1,012 bikers, impounded 153 bikes, registered six cases and arrested 12. In Mumbai, traffic police cracked down on 2,190 bikers for recklessly performing stunts last Sunday.

But Monty is quick to underline that he’s not like these boys: he does never does stunts on the road. “There’s a graveyard near my house which is deserted — that’s where our team practices,” he says. “I am a professional,” he emphasises.
Mikhil Mohan of Ghost Ryderz, a well-established team from Thiruvananthapuram, agrees that you don’t need a road for stunts — even a basketball court will do. “The bikers in Delhi were clearly on the wrong side of the law. They are not professional stunt riders,” says Ashish Ranjan, director of Throttlerz, a Coimbatore-based team of stunt bikers.

If Monty, Mikhil and Ranjan are careful to distance themselves from these ‘rogue’ bikers, there’s good reason for it. In the coming year or two, free-style stunt biking is set to take off as a competitive sport in India. Leading the charge is XDL, a premier stunt riding championship in the world, which will start a competition in India soon. “We do not have a final plan. It may be as early as this winter or later next year,” says Randy Grube, founder of XDL.

Grube is betting big on India. “In India, stunt riding can become the equivalent of skateboarding in the US in less than five years. It has the same enthusiasm and stunt riding is a means of self-expression, just like skateboarding,” he says.

He adds, the ecosystem for the sport in the country is just right — with 1.2 crore motorcycles sold in India in a year compared to just five lakh in the US. Besides, given India’s demographics, most of these bike-owners are young males.

India’s bike fetish
Pulsar, launched by Bajaj Auto in 2001, has played a big role. “In fact, I think they have never done an advertisement where one wheel wasn’t off the ground,” says Grube. Thanks to rising incomes, higher capacity bikes used in stunt biking are being sold. The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers says sales of 150cc-220cc bikes have risen 2.5 times from 9.75 lakh units in 2005-06 to 25 lakh in 2010-11.

Stunt biking already has a large following all over India. Mypulsar.com, an online community of ‘Pulsar Maniacs’, or Bajaj Pulsar owners, has members from all corners of the country, proudly declaring their favourite stunts — a Wheelie, Rolling Burnout, Stoppie or Skitch. Ranjan, an ambassador of XDL in India, says that there are more than 500 stunt riders in India and around 200 professionals, that is, people who are making a living from the sport. XDLIndiaAmbassador, a Facebook page that Ranjan set up in late June inviting stunt bikers to send photographs for a competition, got 4,000
entries in less than four weeks.

Ranjan’s mission now, is to take stunt biking in India mainstream. “A lot of young men take to stunt biking but leave because there is no future in it. I want to create an environment where they can make a living from it as an entertainment sport,” he says.

First off will be an XDL qualifier at India Bike Week in Goa early next year with the winner, hopefully, representing India at the XDL Championships later. Ranjan is also trying to get recognition for freestyle stunt biking from the Federation of Motor Sports Club of India, so that bikers are not harassed by the police. He’s bringing together the top 10 stunt biking teams from India to form a body that will formulate rules and standards, and issue licences to stunt-riders.

In this regard, the Pune RTO has recently begun involving bikers, including stunt riders in a project to promote safe riding in the city. Lets hope other cities follow suit.

Honda to launch new model in Dream entry bike range, and a sporty 160cc motorcycle.

Honda expects volume growth for its domestic two-wheeler market to moderate in FY15 versus the previous year as the high base of last year catches up, yet it aims to handsomely beat the industry with a 26% jump to 45 lakh units on the back of two new bike launches and the addition of 1,000 dealerships.

Honda is also investing over Rs 1,000 crore for a fourth plant in Gujarat, which will start operations in FY16.

The company announced the FY15 business targets at its 13th annual business meet in Japan.

Keita Muramatsu, president & CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, said, “HMSI has set the challenging target of 45 lakh unit sales in FY15. I am confident that propelled by three new launches including the Activa 125 and aggressive network expansion, Honda will meet the expectations”.

This year, the company will launch a new model in the Dream entry bike range, and another sporty 160cc motorcycle targeting the youth.

YS Guleria, VP (sales & marketing), HMSI, said, “Honda will add 1000 new touch-points to its network. This translates to adding three outlets each day. With this, Honda will double its network in just two years from 1,950 outlets in FY13 to 3,800 outlets by end of FY15.”

Harley-Davidson India wins operational excellence award for manufacturing

Harley-Davidson India has won the operational excellence award for manufacturing. it received this honour at a ceremony organised by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC). The award was received by Baljeet Mokha, who is the director of plant operations of the company.

The American manufacturer began its assembling operations in 2010 at their Bawal plant in Haryana. The same plant manufactures the latest Street 750 and the Street 500 for the Indian market as well as international. India is the second country where Harley-Davidson has completely-knocked-down (CKD) assembly operations outside the US and the first country where it has manufacturing operations outside the US. The facility currently assembles seven models, whereas the Street Glide Custom and the Night Rod Special is sold as a completely-built-up (CBU) unit.

“We are honoured to be recognised by IACC for Harley-Davidson India’s operational excellence in manufacturing. The ability to build and deliver exceptional products is possible only through input from our customers and the efforts and dedication of our employees and partners. We are proud of all that has been accomplished over the last 5 years in India and the award stands as testimony to our continued commitment to the market.” said Baljeet Mokha, director, plant operations, Harley-Davidson India.

motorcycle launched in US

EBR 1190SX naked

Back in October we introduced you to Erik Buell Racing’s 1190RX, which is basically an (relatively) affordable version of EBR’s 1190RS exotic superbike. The RX promises to be perhaps the first truly competitive, all-American sportbike. Since its debut the RX has garnered plenty of praise in the press and it certainly looks to be living up to its hype. It seems, however, that Erik Buell and his team of mad scientists in East Troy, MI, haven’t been content to sit around and congratulate each other on a job well done. For months now the EBR website has teased an 1190SX model, but with no information as to what this motorcycle would be. Then, over the last several weeks, photos of the new machine began circulating the Internet, but still there were no hard facts to be found. But now the cat is finally out of the bag. The 1190SX is a no holds barred naked version of the extremely potent RX. The SX is powered by the same 1,190cc 72-degree liquid cooled V-twin as the RX, and it seems to be in an identical state of tune as well. Claimed power output is class leading at 185 horsepower and 101.6 pound-feet of torque. Pricing is also competitive at $16,995.

This year has seen an absolute flood of high-end naked bikes/streetfighters hit the market such as KTM’s 1190 Super Duke R, BMW’s S 1000 R, and Ducati’s Monster 1200, just to name a few. At least according to its spec sheet, the EBR 1190SX appears to have what it takes to take on any of them.

From the mouth of Erik Buell, “The streetfighter classification, which was so revolutionary when we first came to market, is now being used by marketing people for all sorts of motorcycles, including some thinly-disguised standard bikes that have de-tuned or obsolete powertrains. So, perhaps the appropriate new name for a bike like the 1190SX is superfighter

PULSAR NOW IN DUAL TONE COLORS

Bajaj has also let the world know about the introduction of new colours on Pulsar 220F

The Pulsar 200F is also launched in the same three dual-tone colours as the new Pulsar 180. They are:

Sapphire Blue
Cocktail Wine Red
Pearl Metallic White

Bajaj has inverted the colours and introduced a white option which was not present earlier and from the pics, it is the best looker of the lot. This is just a cosmetic refreshment job to keep the interest levels ticking till Bajaj introduces their new range of Pulsars including the faired 200SS.

Mechanically, Pulsar 220F retains the 220cc mill producing 21.05PS of power and 19.12Nm of torque. This, we believe is possibly the last refresh to the old-yet-attractive once the ‘Fastest Indian‘ before Bajaj discontinues it at some point of time (not this year at least).

Price is also reportedly unchanged at around 82,000 ex-showroom in Delhi. Bajaj has not updated the site with the new colours but the new dual-tone Pulsars have already reached the showrooms and sales are expected to begin shortly, possibly accompanied by an official press release from the company.

VESPA VX

VX 125 Versions